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Protests against violence in Iran in Barcelona.
Photo: Paco Freire / dpa
Because of the violent action taken by Iranian security forces against demonstrators, Federal Interior Minister Nancy Faeser (SPD) is calling for all deportations to the country to be stopped.
"Deportations to Iran are irresponsible in the current disastrous human rights situation," Faeser told SPIEGEL.
»A ban on deportations is the right step, which the federal states should decide on as soon as possible.«
The mullahs' regime in Iran is "allowing the peaceful protest to be crushed with brutal violence," Faeser continued.
Young women rebelled "with incredible courage against the tyranny and oppression" and risked their lives in the fight for freedom.
»We have to do everything we can do in this country to protect courageous Iranian civil society.«
Lower Saxony had previously suspended deportations to Iran.
State Interior Minister Boris Pistorius (SPD) also announced that he would like to campaign for a general freeze on deportations at the next conference of interior ministers and to submit a corresponding proposal for a resolution.
"The human rights situation is catastrophic and the situation is getting more dramatic every day," said Pistorius.
Pro Asyl and the state refugee councils called on the other federal states to follow the example of Lower Saxony.
"Each state government can and must suspend deportations immediately," the organizations demanded.
Controversial deportation suspended in Bavaria
In Bavaria, a planned deportation to Iran had recently caused a stir.
A 41-year-old Iranian had been invited to the Passau district office, allegedly to issue him a work permit for a nursing service.
Instead, the police arrested him and put him in custody pending deportation.
After severe criticism, the authorities stopped the deportation for the time being.
The Bavarian Ministry of the Interior announced that the case would be "carefully reviewed" again.
The protests in Iran were triggered by the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini in mid-September.
The moral police had arrested her because of her allegedly "un-Islamic outfit".
What happened to Amini after that is unclear.
The woman fell into a coma and died in a hospital on September 16.
Critics accuse the morality police of using violence and killing the young woman;
the police deny it.
Since Amini's death, thousands have been demonstrating across the country against the government's repressive course and the headscarf requirement.
According to the Oslo-based human rights organization Iran Human Rights, more than 150 people have died trying to put down the protests.
wow/dpa
